Spiritual Teachers

Spiritual teaching is not talking, or preaching, or dazzling others with verbal skills, mental agility,
intellectual knowledge, cleverness, memory of factual things, quick responses, attractive phrases,
charismatic presentation, emotional passion, personal charm - magnetism, or the weight of others who
believe it - peer pressure. That is not what a spiritual teacher does for it.

Human beings so often, make the grave error of listening to other humans when they should be listening to the spirit within. These emotional intellectual personality factors lead some humans to believe they have more truth than others. And they are followed and listened to with very little questioning by large masses of humans, and they begin themselves to believe they have additional abilities over that of their brothers and sisters. Their egos become quite inflated, and - rather than making spiritual progress - they are, in fact, regressing.

The humans who follow them often adore them to the point of error for no human is above any other. Spiritually you are all equal in the kingdom. God is no respecter of persons. Some have gifts in some areas and some have gifts in others. But all spiritually have access to the same God, to the same guidance, to the same spirit, beauty, goodness, wisdom, as any other normal-minded person who has a burning desire to know God.

So, then, brothers and sisters, if religionists by and large have made the mistake in this area of “what is spiritual teaching,” we must discover what it is and how we can do that, and how to correct organizational religions on the somewhat distorted course it is on.

Memory and rote is not knowledge. Fact is not truth. Much that is taught by religionists is a manmade concept, which is in fact not spiritually correct in all their applications. They are more rules than truth. Society does need rules to live by, but this should be the area of government and social mores rather than what you call religion - which should encompass the concept of God as a Father and all of us as true children of this loving benevolent Father and the concept of brother and sisterhood in the kingdom. Religion has failed, by and large, to accomplish this simple task, and instead has erroneously developed rules of conduct, which are filtered through a moralistic time-bound, culture-bound, consciousness that
is not real.

So, how then - faced with a world whose spirituality has been replaced by mere morality, whose leaders have swollen egos by and large, whose followers are sincere and yet unaware of their own free will nor of their personal relationship with God - how then are we to become spiritual teachers?

First, we must examine our tools. Mindally, intellectually, we must simplify what it is we wish to teach. That is the only mindal level of spiritual teaching that should be applied: what is it that we wish to impart? It is simple, and I will repeat: that God is a benevolent parent, that we are all equally His children, that because we belong to the same family we should love our brothers and sisters as we love ourselves - and as our God loves us. That is the rule: love one another, worship God, recognize God in other humans, and respect it. That is the greatest and simplest truth in all of Creation.

That we have free will, that we may choose God, and when we do we have the potential to be eternal, that our Creator son Micheal was indeed incarnated on Earth as Jesus of Nazareth, these are the simple truths. For each of you there might be others, which feel important.

So first, clarify mindally what concepts you wish to teach. Then use your spiritual tools of higher mind: Thought Adjuster-Controller, angelic guidance, mind adjutants, Spirit of Truth - through prayer, worship, and quiet times of receptivity - to enlighten your being and deepen your commitment to teach these truths. For while they sound deceptively simple, brothers and sisters, they are the most resounding concepts that you will ever learn in all your entire ascension career. What sounds simple to you - with what's only your child-like simplicity of your level of beingness - but these are profound. You are simple at this stage, and therefore can only see them in a narrow band. So you must pray to expand your own understanding of these things.

You must also maintain your physical mechanism well so that your teaching abilities will be enhanced without chemical stimulants which can reverse energies in your body and have a retrograde effect on your ability to teach. Emotionally you must keep balance as our beloved Jesus did as human here. Your emotions must be mastered and must be under the control of higher mind. This probably your greatest challenge.

So, we know what you wish to say. We have prayed and asked for spiritual guidance and illumination. We are fit and healthy and have done our best make our material mechanism clean. And we have controlled and balanced our emotions. Now what? Do we stand on the street and quote the book or Jesus to people? No. Do we solicit others in other ways? No.

We live the truth. We produce spiritually through the fabric of our everyday life. We allow our spirituality to shine forth as we live it. The greatest complement that you can get is for another human to approach you and say, “What is it that you have in your life? Can you help me? Because I would also like to possess that quality. I have thought of your life and it is just as hard as my own. It is just as ridden with problems and challenges. It its just as tragic in many ways. And yet through the valleys of despair, through the hours of depression, through the darkness of fear, through the heatedness of anger, through every trial that life has thrown in your path, you have not tripped.” If another were to say that to you it would be the highest
complement to your spiritual teachingness, for that is what a spiritual teacher does: inspires others to faith.

And what would you answer? Would you say, “I have read every great work written in every religion or every philosophy.” Or “I have taken courses,” or “I have prayed for months on the mountain top.” No. No. For that would not ring true nor impress nor inspire anyone to such an empty existence. You will say “I have lived fully - with my faith, with my God, with my angels - and I have actually rejoiced for every blessing of adversity that I have conquered and grown from. What you see, brother or sister is the shininess of my soul, which has grown through the hard times of my life here on Earth. What you see is the transformation of true faith in the positive, ultimate, wonderful, outcome of this adventure that no man or circumstance can take away form me, for it is a part of my very being and my existence.” This is spiritual teaching. Not the concepts or the words. The faith, the depth of faith and the growth of soul are what attract others to God. Truth responds to truth. Faith fosters faith. Godliness fosters God in others. It's all about the personality commingling - which you crave - of greater faith. That is spiritual teaching.

Question: Rayson, could you elaborate on personality commingling that you referred to?

Anaswe: You may sit alone and read the truth in The Urantia Book. You may have a thought of truth on your own. But when another personality imparts this truth or thought to you and you are there to receive it, to catch it, your personalities commingle and if the truth or thought is carried on a circuit of love it will hit its mark, and that is the power of what happens here. You are listening to my words but you are feeling the depth of my love for you as I say them, and this is unfathomably more powerful than reading these truths.

Think of the Apostles, for in truth the message of Jesus is no different than the message of The Urantia Book. Both have taught us that God is a loving FATHER and that men are all brothers. To have received this lesson at the foot of the Master would be much more impactful than to have quietly discovered The Urantia Book on your own and read by yourself. Personality is the gift of The FATHER. When two personalities participate in give and take, a new facet of the Supreme Being is born. It is an act of creation as well as an act of learning.

Question: I was thinking about how much more meaningful and also how much more difficult the application of goodness and beauty and truth are in my life now than when I was a child and first learned about such concepts. You mentioned in the lesson about how - because we are simple - these seem like simple concepts now, but they are very fundamental. It seems to me that as life grows more complex, the application of these principles becomes more complex. Is that a right idea? And difficult?

Answer: Right and wrong. In a limited sense you are correct, the limitation being your life on Earth. You are born without negative experience, and as the babe who is potentially perfect grows and lives through negative life experiences, many defenses and lower emotions come into play. Later as an adult, much of the mortal adult life is spent weaving through this morass of subsequent pain from these negative influences and the reactions thereto. That is how the concept is more complex. How do you love when you are angry? How do you love when you have been hurt? These things make it more difficult.

However, freed at last from these entrapments, resurrected on Mansonia, you will discover again these high values of truth, beauty, and goodness, and how to live in them comfortably and easily. And you will discover them again as a babe in their fundamental consistency. In a grandiose way of thinking these are difficult and complex concepts. Because, can you imagine that love is the foundation of the entire universe? That is complex. And that is also so simple. So, the real task is to rediscover these high values as we once felt them in their pure unadulterated state. The search is not to master the complexity but to rediscover the simplicity.

Question: When we rediscover this simple truth we've been talking about, and we do that with another person of whose knowledge is commingling, a lot of it is like a creation at that moment, isn't it? Or did I misunderstand what you said?

Answer: You understood perfectly. It is like the creation of a cell in the body of the Supreme Being.

Student: Thank you Rayson. That's why it’s so exciting.

Question: Does this personality commingling have anything to do with the fact that a person can help to heal himself by association with another person who simply cares for him and has a positive relationship with him or her?

Answer: Yes of course. There is no hurt that - there is no boo-boo that is not made better by a kiss. There is no great mystery here to personality commingling. It is simply talking to each other, relating. It is simply one unique child of God with one other unique child of God interacting through love. The greatest lesson is learned there. The greatest love is felt there. Its simple. It happens all day, all the time, to every one.

Question: I'll flip it over, then, and look at the other side. If I meet a stranger and proceed to be positive in my interaction, and this stranger is full of hatred or fear or other negative feelings, is that a bad thing for me? Is that an interaction that I should withdraw from? Is it a bad thing?

Answer: There is no formula to follow, which is why you struggle with this question. Every individual is different. You cannot catch negativity, if that is what you are afraid of. You cannot catch fear if you are fearless. Jesus did not turn away from those who were frightened or in darkness. However, all of us not yet being Jesus, we must learn to guard against energy drain, waste of time, and you must evaluate each circumstance for yourself. It is not for you to decide the level of spiritual reality understanding of the other.

Question: Could you elaborate a little for me on the morontia mota which - I am paraphrasing - says “many
truths are lost because they are not shared, and many sadnesses are not lightened.” I think its morontia
mota, its somewhere in the Urantia Book, where they talk about the negative effects of isolation. And how much sadness in our personal human conditions can be alleviated by sharing it with a friend. And how truths are actually lost if we don't have personality relationships with others. Could you elaborate on that a little bit more for me?

Answer: These are two separate ideas, not one. Truths are lost for lack of being shared. Truth, itself, is not
lost. The opportunity for it to be experienced is lost by one holding the truth and the one or ones missing
out on hearing the truth. We are forgiven and experience being forgiven the moment we forgive. This truth of Divine forgiveness or mercy is only made real when practiced one to another. So, as a concept forgiveness does not exist in a bubble of availability. It cannot become part of the real life experience of the mortal until given away. This is the foundation of all truth.

You can know that you are loved by The Father. You can know it here (pointing to the head). You will not have a full experience of The Father's love until you turn it on another. That is why the gospel is two fold that you are loved and you must love.

It is the same with becoming a teacher. You will not learn fully until you teach, until you apply. This is part and parcel of being - part of the Supreme. Were you absolute, this would not be so. Every burden is made lighter when shared with a friend. I spoke earlier of a circuit of love. We talked about how effective teaching is when it's sent from teacher to student on a circuit of love. That is what helps it hit its mark. This love between personalities is powerful, and when experienced, can and has many times changed the entire emotional and ultimately spiritual-life of beings, of people. If one is burdened and holds those burdens to himself, he carries their full weight. If a friend is present and expresses love, the circuit is affected and the burden travels across the circuit to the friend who - in a moment - shares the load and the weight is lifted.
The Father also provides you with this circuit, but more readily accessible to you mortals on Earth at this time are the circuits created by your personality commingling. You must learn to lighten your burden by allowing your brothers and sisters to love you and carry their weight.